Loïck Peyron, who had just been honoured as "Seamaster 2013" at the "Flagship Night" on the opening day of the trade fair in Düsseldorf, was back in his office in Alameda, California, immediately afterwards when Artemis put the new wing on the red AC72 for the first time to take it out on the Bay. In a good 4 Beaufort, however, they only operated in second gear, as the Swedes know from painful experience what it feels like when something like this comes from above. And once again it became clear that the Swedes, unlike the other three teams, have not yet used foils to lift the boat out of the water at higher speeds.
Chief designer Juan Kouyoumdjian did not reveal whether this is the last word in wisdom, but was nevertheless satisfied. "I would describe (this wing) as a further development of the first one. There are no fundamental differences." He also pointed out how far the team had come in the past two years, as they had to start practically from scratch back then. "We had no people, no team base and had never worked together in this constellation before. We built the first wing as a kind of kick-off project. But when you work towards the second boat, with the experience of building the first, ... everything becomes a little easier. We stayed on time and within the weight limit, as it should be."
Even after the dismissal of skipper Terry Hutchinson at the end of the previous year, Swedish entrepreneur Torbjörn Tornquist's squad is full of rock stars. There is the Olympic silver medallist in the Star, Iain Percy, then the Olympic champion in the 49er, Nathan Outteridge, the icon Paul Cayard and of course "Seamaster" Peyron, who are doing everything they can to give the Italians from Luna Rossa and the highly motivated New Zealanders a run for their money in the America's Cup. The first races of the Louis Vuitton Cup, which are scheduled for the beginning of July off San Francisco, will show whether it's enough.
